Organism and the Origins of Self

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Introduction: Speculations Concerning the Origins of the Self

   • Alfred I. Tauber

   Pages 1-39

3. Editor’s Comments to Löwy

   • Alfred I. Tauber

   Pages 41-41

4. The Immunological Construction of the Self

   • Ilana Löwy

   Pages 43-75

5. Editor’s Comments to Varela, Chernyak and Tauber

   • Alfred I. Tauber

   Pages 77-78

6. Organism: A Meshwork of Selfless Selves

   • Francisco J. Varela

   Pages 79-107

7. The Dialectical Self: Immunology’s Contribution

   • Leon Chernyak, Alfred I. Tauber

   Pages 109-156

8. Editor’s Comments to Root-Bernstein

   • Alfred I. Tauber

   Pages 157-158

9. Self, Nonself and the Paradoxes of Autoimmunity

   • Robert S. Root-Bernstein

   Pages 159-209

10. Editor’s Comments to Foster and Sarkar

    • Alfred I. Tauber

    Pages 211-212

11. Directed Mutation in Escherichia Coli: Theory and Mechanisms

    • Patricia L. Foster

    Pages 213-234

12. Lamarck Contre Darwin, Reduction Versus Statistics: Conceptual Issues in the Controversy over Directed Mutagenesis in Bacteria

    • Sahotra Sarkar

    Pages 235-271

13. Editorial Comments to Sober by Sarkar

    • Alfred I. Tauber

    Pages 273-274

14. Organisms, Individuals, and Units of Selection

    • Elliott Sober

    Pages 275-296

15. Editor’s Comments to Williamson

    • Alfred I. Tauber

    Pages 297-298

16. Sequential Chimeras

    • Donald I. Williamson

    Pages 299-336

17. Editor’s Comments to Gilbert

    • Alfred I. Tauber

    Pages 337-340

18. The Role of Embryonic Induction in Creating Self

    • Scott F. Gilbert

    Pages 341-360

19. Epilogue: The Uncut Self

    • Dorion Sagan, Lynn Margulis

    Pages 361-374

20. Back Matter

    Pages 375-384

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"De la vaporisation et de la centralisation du Moi. Tout est la. " Charles Baudelaire (journal entry) This anthology is my visit to Oz. On sabbatical in 1988, I chose to reeducate myself in general biology, first broadening my erudition as an immunologist, and then extending that horizon into evolutionary biology and embryology. I was particularly attracted to reflections on the nature of the self as an organ­ ismic concept. I went in search of reorientation as a confused physician­ scientist, and came back with this book. Baum's Wizard of Oz presented opportunities for growth, and herein lies the purpose of this volume: in providing updated statements concerning the nature of the organism from both scientific and metaphysical perspectives, we might ponder the philo­ sophical basis of our research in the hope of gaining insight into our endeavor, not to mention the possibility of its enrichment; it is this contem­ plative view of our research which offers a unique dimension to this anthology. To that end, the project follows my idiosyncratic prejudices. The anthology derives in large measure from the symposium, "Organism and the Origin of Self' held at Boston University, April 3-4, 1990, under the auspices of the Boston University Center for the Philosophy and History of Science, with generous support of Robert Cohen and Jon Westling, and the organizational skills of Deborah Wilkes. The Symposium presented three ver­ sions of the Self from the vantages of embryology, evolution and medicine.

• Charles Darwin
• Darwin
• Lamarck
• evolution
• reduction

• Boston University School of Medicine, USA

  Alfred I. Tauber

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